Fair Pay Act

Here’s your annual roundup of new California employment laws. Since we’ve discussed many of these laws when they were enacted, I’m including links to those earlier discussions.

Changes to California’s Fair Pay Act – When it took effect at the start of 2016, the Fair Pay Act was the most exacting equal pay law in the country. Effective January 1, 2017, following the passage of SB 1063 and AB 1676, it’s expanding significantly. First, the requirement of equal pay for substantially similar work is expanding beyond gender to include race and ethnicity. Second, AB 1676 amended the Labor Code to emphasize that “prior salary shall not, by itself, justify any disparity in compensation.”

“All Gender” Bathroom Bill – Effective March 1, 2017, businesses are prohibited from labeling any “single-user toilet facility” as either “male” or “female.” AB 1732 defines “single-user toilet facility” as “a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.”

Prohibition against asking applicants about juvenile convictions – AB 1843 prohibits employers from asking about or considering information relating to arrests, convictions, or other proceedings that occurred while an applicant or employee “was subject to the process and jurisdiction of juvenile court law.”

We’ve written extensively about California’s Fair Pay Act, which requires equal pay for “substantially similar” work. (Think, I’m exaggerating? We wrote about it here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.) On July 20, 2016, we will be presenting a one-hour briefing on what employers should be doing to comply with the law. We’ll start at 8:30 a.m. at our offices at 345 California Street, 22nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. You’ll hear from lawyers (Jade Buttman and me) and an economist (Dr. Hyowook Chiang of Welch Consulting) about concrete steps you can take to protect your company.

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